Abstract
On a global level, COVID-19 has shaken the foundations of every
sector. In the South African education context, the traditional
methods of teaching, learning, and managing schools changed
drastically overnight and management roles and responsibilities
were pushed to unprecedented levels. Moreover, the roles of
middle leaders and managers took place within a more distributive
framework, encouraging school leaders to adopt varying styles of
leadership to cope with the demands of COVID-19. For this study,
middle leaders constitute departmental heads, grade heads and
subject heads. This study utilised a qualitative research design,
adopting a case study approach within the interpretivist paradigm.
Three departmental heads and seven post level one educators
who occupy grade heads/leaders’ roles in a primary school
constituted the sample. Semi-structured individual interviews were
conducted with participants to gain their understanding of how
distributive leadership was practiced during the pandemic. Four
themes emerged, namely leadership styles and factors informing
the leadership behaviour and leadership growth of middle
leaders and managers in schools; middle leaders’ and managers’
perceptions of distributive leadership and the responsibilities of
the different stakeholders; the impact of COVID-19 on distributive
leadership as perceived by middle leaders and managers; and the
advantages and disadvantages of distributive leadership practices.
The study recommends that School Management Teams (SMTs)
involve middle leaders and managers to a greater degree to
secure an effective ‘buy-in’ to the concept of distributive leadership
and that middle managers offer opportunities for others to lead,
by developing leadership-specific courses for them. SMTs must
also ensure that individuals have a stable working environment
where their psychological, sociological, and emotional needs are
respected, fulfilled, and validated during any pandemic.